Musings of a firegod at 50,000 feet
by k4writer02
Summary: Pyro’s thoughts while on the plane, sitting next to “the bad guy.” Spoilers for X-men 2, though it takes place mid movie, not the end.


TITLE: Musings of a fire-god at 50,000 feet  
  
AUTHOR: k4writer02  
  
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL: k4writer02@yahoo.com Feedback is very much appreciated!  
  
PERMISSION TO ARCHIVE: Yes, just tell me. I love seeing my stuff on the internet!  
  
CATEGORY: Pyro vignette. R/B, S/J  
  
RATINGS/WARNINGS: PG-13 1 bad word and an adult interpretation of what Magneto did to Rogue.  
  
SUMMARY: Pyro's thoughts while on the plane, sitting next to "the bad guy." Spoilers for X-men 2, though it takes place mid movie, not the end.  
  
DISCLAIMER: The X-Men and the X-Men movieverse belong to Marvel and  
  
Twentieth-Century Fox. I do not own anything, and am making no profit from this story.  
  
NOTES: This fic contains spoilers. Also, this is my first X-men fic, so please tell me what you think. Thanks!  
  
Marie's hair used to be completely brown. She smiled shyly when Bobby and I welcomed her to Mutant High, and her eyes shone a bit, and we were blown away. Even though she couldn't touch anyone-maybe that made her more appealing. To Bobby. Not me. Bobby's the Iceman, and sure, he puts on a good show, pulling pranks and laughing, but under all that softness, heart of ice. That's his biggest fear. So of course he went for the untouchable girl. Not me though. I flirt with anything with a pulse, but I need someone with hot blood. Maybe someday it'll be me and Jubes-she's the only girl at school who isn't all but married.  
  
I'll admit, we were flirting with Marie. New girl, I had to give it a go. Me and Bobby were competing a bit. Jubes came to school with a jones for Everett, but she fell for Sam fast enough. But like I said, she and Sam aren't quite as serious as everyone else. Kitty chose Piotr, even though Ororo disapproved. Ororo was practically Kitty's second mother, but Kitty and Piotr were so hyped on hormones-excuse me, "in love" that it didn't matter. The Shadowcat and the Colossus were a foregone conclusion. Now Kit and Pete-they are serious. They're the type who'll pay their dues to mutant kind, get married, buy a house in the suburbs, have babies, and try for a normal life. As normal as it gets when you're a fresh faced all American who walks through walls and a bulletproof strong-as-a-tank Russian.  
  
What stupid code names, right? You'd never guess that Kitty Pryde, the girl who walks through walls, is the Shadowcat, would you? And don't get me started on the Ruskie. Piotr may be able to cover himself with steel or whatever but only an idiot invites the army to shoot at him. At least he finally accepted the American nickname "Pete."  
  
Siryn, Theresa, one of the little kids-now she had the right idea. Use your powers on everybody; don't give up till they tranquilize you. I hope she's okay. She wasn't bad, for a little kid. I hope she and Jimmy were- are together. Little Theresa O'Rourke, the Irish singer, and not-so-little James Proudstar, the American Indian with super senses and strength, are in puppy love. Right now, that means they sit together in every class and show off their powers to each other. Theresa's learning to levitate with that scream. They say that one day she'll fly, like her father. Last I saw, Jimmy-James-whatever was bench-pressing a car. He's not twelve yet.  
  
And I can't even start a fire in my hand. Sure, I can play with it, I can impress girls like Marie, who are ready to be impressed by cheap tricks like an ice rose. But Marie's hair isn't all brown anymore, and she isn't really Marie. She is the Rogue. There are two white stripes in her hair, courtesy of Magneto, the evil mutant who tried to take over the world.  
  
Yes, this is my life. He sent some shape-shifter here to impersonate Bobby, to get Rogue to run away. When they told Bobby that some strange woman had worn his face to hurt Marie-man. When they told us, if it had been me, I would've flipped and we would've gotten new furniture and a lecture about fire safety and smoke damage and drawing attention to the mansion.  
  
Bobby froze. Literally. He covered his body in ice. Cyclops grabbed him and got him down to the medlab, where Jean tried to thaw him. But Bobby didn't want to thaw. He was conscious under the ice, but he was faking otherwise. I knew it, he'd talked about it happening before.  
  
Jean was trying to figure out if forcing him to melt would hurt him, because it could be part of his mutation to have a lower body temperature than humans, and why hadn't they seen the ice form before? She was hysterical. Normal humans don't turn into Popsicles because they hear someone impersonated them. Normal humans don't drop their body temperature ten degrees in ten minutes. Bobby's a mutant though, so who knew what was normal?  
  
Marie started to cry. "Honest to Gawd, Bobby, I ain't mad at you. It could've been anybody, I know it wasn't you. Please wake up."  
  
Just like magic, his eyes open. "Little kiss to prove it?"  
  
She hit him then, kissed her glove and touched it to his face. Suddenly, his temp went through the roof, there were ice chunks and water everywhere, and Bobby was blushing and Marie was kind of smiling and Scott was rolling his eyes because he couldn't believe we were that juvenile.  
  
"Why me?" Bobby coughed, while Jean all but poured juice down his throat. "Why not Allerdyce or someone else?"  
  
Rogue looked at him, and looked at me. "You're the one who invited me to lunch. You're the one who was so nice and friendly." She drawled, and I felt like I could get lost in her voice, in the soft, almost endless, vowel sounds. It wasn't a crush, I just have a thing for accents and big soft eyes. But she was untouchable, literally. So maybe it was a crush. Didn't mean a thing.  
  
Then I realize that she meant I wasn't so nice.well, that was the moment that Rogue and Bobby joined the ranks of "established couples." They were in good company. Scott & Jean. Jubilee & Sam. Kitty & Piotr. Maybe even Theresa & Jimmy, even if they were only 8 and 10 at the time.  
  
"Listen, man. You okay?" I asked Bobby roughly.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm cool. In fact, I'm ice." Rogue hit him again. He grinned at me, trying to say "relax." But that's Bobby for you. Always and forever with the jokes.  
  
I left then. I was so pissed off, I could barely see straight. My temper is almost a legend around the mansion. Bobby's the Iceman, but I'm Pyro. Fire is my element, and it's part of my soul. It flares, it lashes out, it's out of control-and so am I.  
  
That day, I was so pissed I couldn't-can't even tell you. First, some stranger called Logan stabs Marie, a new and hot classmate. She wasn't the Ice Maiden, I'll tell you that. Logan ran her through with what amounted to knives, and she saved herself, and people acted like she didn't have the right. I think, we've got powers for a reason. Use 'em. Not like she killed Logan or anything.  
  
Then she ran off, and some evil mutant went inside her. There's no way to say it so it's not dirty. It is dirty. He raped her, forced himself on her, in a way that is so much deeper than physical rape. He shared things, gave her things she didn't want. Almost used her to destroy life as we know it, and now he's laughing about the white strips he left in her hair. She wants to kill him, but our Iceman pragmatist holds her back. Bobby's such a little Scott when Scott isn't around. When Scott is around, Bobby's the clown. We all need a role right? I'm the one who can't keep a lid on it. Jesus, I almost barbecued that cop. I want to kill Magneto too, but I'll bide my time. Maybe all that time around Scott and Bobby and their "control" is rubbing off. Maybe not. I can't ever see the Iceman or the Cyclops contemplating murder. Wait, there is Logan. If anyone sends Summers and Drake over the edge with jealousy, it'll be him. Isn't it weird to think? Which is stronger, jealousy or revenge? I've felt both. For me, it's revenge. For the two men who are totally in love, it seems to be jealousy. Not that they have a reason to be jealous of Logan or anything. Not like Jean and Marie greeted them with open arms.whoops, wrong again.  
  
I wonder what would happen if I told Magneto how much of him is left inside Rogue's mind? That she still knows him? That she has all of his memories, knows all of his secrets. She woke the mansion with dreams of concentration camps and men coming for us in the night. Guess that dream came true. Could've lived without it, thanks. She had to leave Ms. Munroe's history class when we were talking about the Nazis. Kitty followed her to the bathroom and found Rogue repeating a string of numbers in German and throwing up. I bet that number is the same as the one on Magneto's arm.  
  
I wonder what he would say if I told him that she knows his bank account numbers? What would he think if he knew that she financed a girls-only shopping spree on his bank account? What would he say if I told him that she knows who his first lover was? Would he ever recover if one of us calls him the nickname his mother gave to him? Rogue exorcised Magneto by knowing Erik, by sharing Erik with the rest of us. I bet Magneto doesn't know that. But someday he will. I'll tell him, right before I kill him.  
  
See, that's the part of the story I didn't get to yet. That day, I wanted to be Storm. I wanted to pull lightning out of the sky and incinerate Magneto and Mystique. It wasn't right for them to have that much power. It wasn't right that Magneto could get away with raping Marie's mind and memory, could turn her into the Rogue. It wasn't right that someone could use Bobby's face to hurt Marie. None of it was right. I swore to myself that if I ever got a chance to take either of them down, I would. No matter what it took, I knew I would destroy Magneto and Mystique.  
  
See, even though Rogue hates him, there's still too much Marie in her. Marie knows Erik. She hates him, but she loves him too. She once told me that she knows the people inside her mind so well that she loves them, even when they try to hurt her. She said it scares her that she understands them so well. She asked if understanding monsters made her a monster. She asked Bobby, but I heard too. No one under eighteen leaves the Institute in groups smaller than four, school rule. Artie was along, but he's a quiet kid. I heard the question, but I didn't hear him answer. They went through therapy together, Marie for the nightmares and multiple personalities, Bobby for-what's it called when you find out you have an evil twin who looks exactly like you? Shakespearean Comedic Syndrome?  
  
Rogue once asked the professor if she could visit Erik, but Professor X said no. I guess the almighty Charles Xavier knows what he's doing, but this guy's been in Rogue's head for a long time-and damn it, the first thing he says to her shouldn't have been about her hair. If they'd been in the plastic jail, she would've had the power. But she wouldn't have hurt him. She's.good, I guess. And so is Bobby. Once, I asked him what he would do if he ever saw Mystique, the woman who impersonated him. He said he didn't know.  
  
I'm not good. I do know what I'm going to do. I'm going to seem to betray my friends. I'm going to use Magneto and Mystique, while they think they're using me. I'm going to know their plans, I'm going to get the information to Drake, I'm going to stop the plan at the last minute, kill Magneto and Mystique, then go home with Rogue and Iceman. We'll have earned the right to be X-men then. And then it'll be the three of us; best friends and heroes forever. So what if it's a pipe dream. I don't care.  
  
Rogue, Iceman, Pyro. RIP, Magneto and Mystique. M&M. It's funny, the things I think of sometimes, but I don't think anyone else would laugh if I compared our archenemies to melt in your mouth, not in your hand candies. If I compared the star pupils of Xavier's institute to a tombstone. I don't know what they would think of this plan. I haven't told them about it. Marie would cry, Bobby would try to talk me out of it and then go to Scott, and maybe that's not such a bad thing, since Fearless leader's already going to kill us. The car. I rode in Scott's car and I didn't even get to drive it.  
  
Of every car in the garage, Logan took Scott's? He had the bike for Christ knows how long, and then he takes the car too? It's funny how things work out. Finally saw Bobby's house. It's in Boston, but he was born on Long Island. Jubes calls him the Long Island Iced Tea, for obvious reasons. He lived up to the nickname, froze his mom's tea in the cup. Should've seen the look on their faces. Should've heard Marie defend him. I never had a Marie. Bobby told me about his family, a long time ago. He made them sound nice, but sort of out of touch. I saw that today. He never asked about my family. Rule one at Mutant High, if they don't volunteer to talk about home and family, don't ask. We all have bad memories. I wish he had asked me, though.  
  
I wish I had asked him more questions. If I'd asked, maybe I would've been more suspicious. Maybe I would've realized that the little shit was going to call the cops. Maybe I wouldn't have flipped. Maybe I wouldn't have killed that cop. Did I kill anyone? I don't know. Part of me wishes I did. That's the bad part. Did Marie see how evil I can be when she absorbed me?  
  
Part of me hopes I just did major property damage. I don't want to be a murderer. Scott and Jean and Ororo and Professor X wouldn't harbor a murderer. Would they? Or are they, in Logan? What is Logan's story? Rogue shared Erik with us all, but Logan she kept to herself. I think Bobby was jealous of that. I think that's why he showed off his power when Logan came back. I think that's why he was so relieved when Rogue handed over the dogtags. I wonder about that though. She used to wear them all the time, then she stopped. Does she sleep with them? Did she grab them before her gloves? Which matters more, power control or returning property?  
  
I wonder what Bobby thinks about me. He's got his Iceman face on now. Is it to calm down Marie, or is it because of me? He has control. I don't. But he's not telling me that I screwed up. He's not saying that I just confirmed that the humans are right to hate and fear me. Is he thinking it? Or am I? What does Marie think, now that she's seen me, everything about me? Did she see everything? Does she know that I used to have a crush on her? That I was jealous of her and Bobby? The picture-what if she sees the drawing of them kissing and her frying him? What if she sees how jealous I was of Bobby's family? I'm not jealous now. Oh God, my plan! Did Marie see my plan? What will she do about it if she did? It's back to jealousy and revenge, like everything in my life.  
  
You know something else funny? I never pictured Marie as the black nightgown type of girl. She was wearing white the night the Wolverine stabbed her. We don't see the girls in pajamas often. Scott rides herd on the guys, and he doesn't encourage late night mingling, let's put it that way. I wonder if she kept the white nightgown? Is that sick to wonder?  
  
She wore black when we ran from the school, and she didn't have her gloves. I wondered about that, because I have it on good authority that she keeps gloves right next to her bed. Maybe in the rush and commotion she forgot? I flick the lighter again, and glance at Magneto. I'm laying the groundwork to betray my best friends in the world.but don't worry Bobby, don't cry Marie. I'm coming back. It won't be long before the whole world hears about the three crazy young mutant heroes, the new wave of the X-men: Rogue, Iceman and Pyro.  
  
Hah. I wonder what the current wave of the X-men would think of that. Jean would lock us in the med lab, Storm would politely tell us to stay where we are, Logan would not so politely tell us to stay where we are and Scott. Hmm. I wonder what Scott would do? It wasn't that long ago that he was our age. That he was on this side of the fence. He's sympathetic, but he would never let us endanger ourselves. He'd find something safe for us to do so we'd think we were helping. That's why he's the leader.  
  
Jean's older, Storm's older, Wolverine's definitely older, but Scott's the heart of the X-men. He was the first, and I bet he'll be the last. Except that one of the girls at school can see the future, and she said that the last X-man will be Jubilee. Jubes really freaked out about that. After all, she never lets herself exhibit her powers. I don't even think she wants to be an X-man that bad. But she'll do it, because Xavier's dream sucks us in like a flame attracts a moth. It's not till we're burned too bad to leave that we want to.  
  
I don't think anyone else realizes that there isn't that much of a difference between Xavier and Magneto. Magneto's just more honest. Xavier sends the young, the healthy to fight in his stead. He trains them. If he really wanted peace, why prepare for war? We studied the Prince once, and I saw how he used the peace to prepare for coming battles. He sees it as inevitable. It's after the war that his hopes are for. But Xavier never called Erik evil.  
  
I'm not a philosopher. I don't understand the nuances. I understand big things. I play with fire the way a magician pretends to. I throw fireballs, because I understand why humans hate me. I don't know how Ms. Munroe follows the dream while she hates them. Don't let anyone lie to you, she does hate and fear them. So do I. At least I have a reason. They came into my home, my school. They shot children, and God knows what they've done with them. I don't know if things'll be okay if I'm okay and the little ones aren't. It's my job to take care of them, cause I'm older. It was the first job Scott ever gave me and Bobby that mattered. Look how we screwed it up.  
  
I understand that there's a line between good and evil, and I understand that I flirt with it way too much for Bobby and Marie's comfort. But I can still see that that's more evil than I ever want to be. Xavier and the others see the big picture too much to notice the little people like me. Except when I screw up. And I'm about to screw up so well, they'll never look away again. Marie, please, if you know what my plan is, don't tell them. Just believe me when the time comes and I need you. "They say you're the bad guy." I try to sound casual as I flip my lighter. I've pleased them. It's begun. 


End file.
